Improvement in thill-couplings



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC GEO. E. GLOW, OF PORT BYRON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND ABRAM AND CHARLES GLOW.

IMPROVEMENT IN THlLL-COUPLINGS.

Qpecification forming part of Letters Patent No. 57,090, dated August 14, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. GLOW, of Port Byron, 'in the county of Cayuga and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Thill-Gouplings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings. which are made a part of this specification, and in which Figure l is a perspective view of my improved thillcoupling, and Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two figures.

This invention relates to a coupling for attachin g the thills of a vehicle to the axle; and the improvement consists in a peculiar manner of constructing a socket to admit of the ready attachment and detachment of the thillirons. as will be presently explained.

In order that others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may be enabled to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed to describe it in detail in connection with the accompanying drawings.

A represents the thill-iron, which is the piece of metal applied to the rear end of each thill to adapt it to be coupled with the socketed piece or bar B, which is secured to the axle of the vehicle in customary manner. 0 is a socket formed in an enlargement, D, on the forward end of the piece B, and made large enough to admit of the ready insertion of thecylindrical extremity a of the thill-iron A.

In orderto permit the cylindrical end a. of the thill iron to be slidden laterally into the socket O a slot, d, is out through to the socket O, and this slot accommodates the flat portion of the end of thill-iron whenthe latter is being coupled.

In the flat portion of thill-iron A, near its rear extremity, is formed an opening, A which fits over the front part, d, of the enlargement D, said part dforming a hook-shape catch, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

e e are shoulders, which are formed at each side of the catch (1 by cutting away or'removing the sides of the enlargement D.

The method of using this thill-coupling and its advantages will be readily understood. To couple the thill, one end of the cylindrical end of the thill-iron A is permitted to rest upon one of the shoulders e, which, serving as a guide, permits the thill to be pushed back horizontally till one end of the cylindrical part a may be said to be fairly introduced into the socket C. It is then necessary, in order to complete the attachment, to turn the thill into an upright position, so as to bring its flattened end in line with the slot 01, and thus enable the full length of the cylindrical extremity a to be introduced into the socket O. This having been done, the thill is turned forward and downward, and the aperture A" is thus made to engage over the catch d, as shown in figure. The parts thus coupled are not liable to be casually disconnected either by vertical or lateral movements.

I am aware that it is not new to construct coupling with the socket O, catch 03, and locking-aperture A. Hence I do not wish to claim the combination of these parts, broadly; but I know of no previous example of a thill-coupling of this character having the shoulders e l. These shoulders, by performing the function of guides, enable the thill-iron to be partially coupled while the thill is held in a horizontal position, as previously explained, and the act of coupling is greatly facilitated thereby. In the absence of these shoulders the initial insertion has to be effected while the thills are held in an upright condition, which renders the operation much more difficult than it is under my improved construction.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new herein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

The socket O, catch d, and shoulders e e, I

employed in connection with the thill-iron A A a, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

this 9th day of July, 1866. 4

eEo. E. oLow.

Witnesses:

JAMEs L. EWIN, GHARLEs A. PETTIT. 

